My Story In Esports

From underground events to groundbreaking events... (2009-2014)

Once upon a time, I was just an aspiring player looking to be one of the best. This goal pushed me to make a huge impact on my local scene. It all started in high school & my local library. I met all sorts of players and was one of the strongest players in our region. People wanted to play against me in order to improve. I wanted as much practice as possible with good training partners, so I began to start hosting sessions for people to get real experience vs players. I coached and mentored many players, we all had the drive to improve & a lot of fun!

From these underground sessions we started doing events w/ local establishments (Library, Card Shops, Ect) and the Ocean County Smash Community was born. As time went on I realized we had a growing scene & I had to take things to another level. I helped establish us a foundation which would lead into the next era for local smash bros in NJ.

One of my best friends had their birthday be a Smash event at a local LAN center, from this center we were able to start our journey to the next era.

From breaking ground to breaking the local event meta... (2014-2016)

At this point, All of my events were mostly word of mouth, using flyers at local establishments, and other organic methods in-person. I started running "Official" Smashboards events at this time and using online advertising on social media to bring in a whole new wave of players. From local players who were unaware but excited for a local scene to spring up so close for them (at the time, it was roughly a 1hour drive for any competitive smash player to visit a real tournament scene). We had top players from neighboring regions visit our region for the 1st time and it brought competitions to an entirely new level.

The LAN venue that we first started at began to have issues so we moved venues at this point. We ran a few different series at local card shops, restaurants, recreation centers & more. It was a tedious task finding venues that were affordable and beneficial for everyone but I did my best to make it happen.

The 1st big breakthrough venue for us was the SMS (Shiver Me Smashers) series @ CB Huntington's in Blackbeard's Cave.

This venue provided the tournament with a banquet room, restaurant, arcade & activities like Go Kart / Mini Golf for players to enjoy during the events. It was at this time that the competitions and community really grew, from friend groups forming to the local skill meta evolving. It was truly a special time that propelled our scene forward. It was out of some of these groups that incredible organizations (including MHG - MasterHandGaming) were founded. It was also around this time that the Ocean County Smash Community Facebook group was revamped into being Central NJ Smash.

Unfortunately this Venue's AC broke during summer and we had to move the events again. We found new card shops in a slightly more north area that would establish the bridge for Central NJ going forward. Our 1st event in this region ended up being the largest & most successful local I have ever hosted, Nova Smash @ Nova Games - Freehold. The Nova series was very successful as it connected a majority of our old players with an entirely different scene that was too far previously to attend OcS events. We temporarily went back to our old venue, CE Smash (Close Encounters Comics & Games which was owned by Nova Games & later renamed to Nova Games - Bricktown) & from there looked for future endeavors.

From breaking the local event meta to breaking into main stream... (2016-2020)

The Nova venue in Freehold ran into issues which caused our events at their venue to conclude but it opened the door to our next era. I was able to connect with Microsoft in Freehold Raceway Mall & build a bridge that at the time felt impossible (Banjo was not in Smash yet). We were able to run 2 of the most incredible mainstream event series in the region.

These event series were indirectly collaboration of a Nintendo community and Xbox / Microsoft community. They went great for roughly 3 months then we unfortunately had to shut these events down as well due to Microsoft Corporation's decision.

At the time Microsoft & Nintendo still didn't have any official partnerships in Smash. We had an incredible relationship with the local store but business happens. I started running a couple events at a card shop close to these 2 most recent venues named Platinum Star Games while planning what was next.

From this point I decided to take everything I have done over the years to go even further. I sought out Esports & Gaming jobs. Looking for something real that could take my skills and put them to use. I began applying for more places, attending more events & doing whatever I could to make a plan.

One thing I pride myself on when it came to everything I was doing was opening a safe space where people of any background could get together and get along. After my transition the community still openly accepted & respected me, while at the same time it opened up the avenue for LGBT+ people to feel even more safe knowing I was the event host. Gaming has always been my safe haven away from discrimination and the social problems in the world. (Note: In this video below I came out as a transwoman the day prior to this event so not everyone was up to date on my pronouns. It was still a fantastic event & experience for me personally)

I learned a hard lesson that there is still much to be done when I went through my nightmare with a new store at the time was just opening. After dealing with some serious sexual harassment I had to leave the store after receiving serious transphobic comments & physical threats from a head member of staff. I left 2 jobs for this position & it put me in a horrible situation. Honestly, I was close to giving up on gaming. This incident made me realize that the host and environment can really influence what makes a space feel safe. Creating those type of positive spaces is what allowed me to be so successful so I kept this to heart going forward.

Shortly after this, I found a new home at Sector X, a brand new VRcade LAN center near Philadelphia, PA (Cherry Hill, NJ) but this one was still under construction at the time (now open). They needed a Social Media Manager & Event Organizer which was perfect for me. I moved to Philadelphia, PA and began working on projects with them. In a way it was leaving all of my hard work in NJ behind but honestly I knew it was in good hands and the impact I made would continue to thrive.

With Sector X, We hosted Super Smash Bros Ultimate events near Drexel University, Fighting Game events with The Laboratory & Collaborations with BigEGaming, Wizard World, Drexel Esports & Gaming Association, US Army & More!

We eventually began gaining sponsorships & partnerships with other gaming centers, gaming developers like SNK, Drexel Esports & Gaming Association (DESGA) & more to host incredible events like our first regional "ButtonMasherZ" at Drexel University in February 2020. BMZ was without a doubt my most successful event to date & felt like the beginning of what was to come.

There was one more event I hosted prior to COVID-19 destroying all the momentum I was gaining. "Tattoo SSBU" was a freelance event I did in collaboration with Sector X & AmpTattoo, it ended up having partnership with Redbull as-well & the owner turned this tournament into a Smash Bros Friendly Party with Nintendo-Art-Themed Snacks, Drinks & Music.

I didn't know at the time that this would be my last event ever hosted in-person prior to COVID but a lot of people tell me that this event was even better then BMZ and that it was my "coolest" event ever.

From COVID-19 breaking the world to Present... & THE FUTURE?! (2020-Present)

It was at this time everything came to a stop. I spent the next several months hoping for things to return to normal so I could continue where I left off but unfortunately, life happened.

September 3rd, 2020 my entire life and direction changed upon the release of Spellbreak. Please feel free to check out my VTuber + Blog section to learn about my time as a competitive player & content creator. After hitting Rank#1 Global I decided to step down from Sector X & IRL Esports/Gaming Administration to focus on my path as a top player & content creator. A decision I do not regret in the slightest as it was the best time of my entire life. It gave me the time to accomplish a lot of personal goals, I stepped away then but I am coming back to Esports + Gaming now!

As Spellbreak died I ended up doing a couple things to prolong it's life including founding the "SGC | Spellbreak Gaming Community" which was essentially the official scene for Spellbreak in it's final chapter featuring multiple tournaments & events to give the community some love. It was at this time I wanted to return to IRL Esports.

In April, 2022 I was given the opportunity to work with Philly Esports on 2 incredible IRL events in collaboration with US Army Esports. A Highschool Super Smash Bros Ultimate Tournament that featured lots of avenues for gamers to look into college/future careers & a Apex Legends LAN @ Metro Esports

Working these events post COVID-19 gave me hope that things are slowly returning to normal and that my future is opening back up for what's next.

Thank you so much for reading and supporting my endeavors! I am currently a freelance organizer, here are my objectives, contact me at KairiCaitlyn@gmail.com for any business inquiries!

~ Kairi Caitlyn